Testing Configuration Options for Job Flows in SAS Solution for IFRS 17

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Introduction

SAS Solution for IFRS 17 utilizes SAS Infrastructure for Risk Management job flows to carry out various computations and data processing tasks. The job flows are a collection of interrelated tasks. Each job flow is executed based on a variety of configuration possibilities or options. Developers use these options to suit the business requirements of a certain task at a particular location. The system allows you to execute and test a whole job flow by selecting options from the user interface and downloading the results. The goal of this article is to give developers and testers an overview of how to execute a job flow with modified options and analyse the consequences of the changes. The article assumes the basic knowledge of tools like SAS Infrastructure for Risk Management and technical know-how of SAS Solution for IFRS 17.

Overview of Steps   

You can obtain more information on SAS  Infrastructure for Risk Management and SAS Solution for IFRS 17 through the following training programs.

SAS®  Infrastructure for Risk Management Overview
Business Overview of SAS® Solution for IFRS 17 in SAS® Risk Stratum

Steps to execute a job flow separately with modified options.

1. Clone the job flow and download results
2. Identify the options and download corresponding table
3. Update the table with modified options
4. Upload the table
5. Execute the job flow
6. Download and analyse results

We take an example of the steps to change the configuration options in the analytics_option table and then it explores the effect on cash flow calculations.

General Overview of Steps for Testing Configuration Options

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1. Clone the Job Flow and Download Results

The first step is to access the job flow interface of SAS Infrastructure for Risk Management and locate the desired job flow, open and clone it and then download results. Following are the steps:

1. Using the interface of SAS Infrastructure for Risk Management access the list of job flows.
2. For the specific job flow, Click More icon and from options and select clone.
3. Double click to open the cloned job flow.
4. In the top right corner, click Run instance icon to execute it
5. Using the miniature window and buttons to zoom in and out, focus on the task, EIR Calculation.
6. Double-click the output table, Discounted Cashflows (based on constant rates), to download it in the MS Excel format.
7. Copy the file to the desktop and rename it OriginalCashflows_DefaultOptions.

Illustration of Instance Page and Results Table

2. Identify the Options and Download Corresponding Table

In this step, you must identify the desired configuration table like analytics_option for changing discounting related configuration options. You need a basic understanding of main configuration tables like analytics_option, report_option, run_option and so on using the user guide and data model of the solution. You must change the table in the initial tasks of the job flow.

1. Return to the SAS Infrastructure for Risk Management interface and using the miniature window and buttons to zoom in and out, focus on the first task, Collect previous reporting data, of the flow.
2. Double-click the input table, Configuration-Analytical Parameters, to download it in the MS Excel format. Notice that the name of the Excel file is xls.

3. Update the Table with Modified Options

1. Copy the file to the desktop and rename it modified_analytics_option.
2. Double-click the Excel file to open it and make the following changes:

Note that these options are used as an example. It changes the day basis for accounting and disable forward rate based discounting calculations.

CONFIG_NAME	CONFIG_VALUE
DAY_BASIS	30/360
DAY_BASIS_LIAB	30/360
FWD_IR_CRV_ORGN_QUOTE_DT_FLG	N
FWD_IR_RECOG_SHIFT_FLG	N

3. Save the file.

4. Upload the Table

1. Return to the SAS Infrastructure for Risk Management interface, which has the cloned job flow opened.
2. Right-click the input table, Configuration-Analytical Parameters, and select Upload. The following window appears:

Illustration of upload file facility. 

3. Click Browse and navigate to the Excel file modified_analytcis_option and click it. For Comment, enter the text Changed Analytics Options.

5. Execute the Job Flow

1. In the top right corner, click Run instance to execute it. Wait for the instance to successfully execute.

6. Download and Analyse Results

1. Using the miniature window and buttons to zoom in and out, focus on the task EIR Calculation.
2. Double-click the output table Discounted Cashflows (based on constant rates) to download it in the MS Excel format. Notice that the name of the Excel file is xls and is available at the default location of the Downloads folder in the training image.
3. Copy the file to the desktop and rename it NewCashflows_ChangedOptions.
4. Compare the Cash Flows in the Excel Files. Open both the Excel files NewCashflows_ChangedOptions and OriginalCashflows_DefaultOptions.

Notice that the structure of both files is same. Observe the first few values of the column in both the files. It represents the discounted cash flow PV_INVESTMENT_AMT. There are slight differences in the values due to the setting changes made in the file.

Illustration of different results for different configurations.

You can observe the small differences, which are mostly at decimal levels. Notice that the impact of the changes can be further studied, and mathematical reasons can be established. However, the focus of the demonstration is to illustrate the steps of trying and testing out an option on a specific flow.

Post Activities

The six steps described above enables you to try different options and analyse results. If the results are satisfactory, you must configure the options as part of static tables using the configuration workspace for deploying them in production and make them the part of your modified process.

Conclusion

The article presents a series of steps to test or evaluate configuration options in SAS solution for IFRS 17. These steps enable you to try out and test several configuration options based  on your requirements. Such steps might be beneficial in the development and implementation stages of SAS Solution for IFRS 17. For a working demo of above steps refer to the training program Technical Overview of SAS Solution for IFRS 17.

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